The invention relates to an apparatus for measuring the mass of a flowing medium, and in particular to measuring the intake air mass of internal combustion engines which includes at least one temperature-dependent resistor arranged in the flow of the medium, the temperature and/or resistance of this resistor being controlled in dependence on the mass of the flowing medium, and wherein the control variable is a measure for the mass of the flowing medium. The resistor comprises a hot wire which is mounted at support points in a probe ring.
An apparatus for measuring the mass of a flowing medium is known in which a hot wire is used as the temperature-dependent resistor. The hot wire is tautly stretched over a plurality of fastening elements in a sensor ring. In such an apparatus there is the danger that excessive conduction of heat away from the hot wire will occur via the fastening elements, which causes an undesirable restriction in measurement precision.